The Traitors US' Dan & Janelle: Legends Unite

The Reunion of Legends

The Traitors US season 2 welcomes two Big Brother legends, Janelle Pierzina and Dan Gheesling, who shared their secret strategy for playing a whole new game together.

Big Brother Legend Dan Gheesling on The Traitors US

While Dan and Janelle haven’t played a game together since Big Brother 14 in 2012, their status as BB legends and their time together on the series made it clear they’d be targeted as The Traitors US season 2 began in the Scottish highlands. Dan, who retired from reality TV after his run on BB 14, was the runner-up of the season, while Janelle placed twelfth after a blindside eviction. Janelle returned to BB for the second incarnation of All-Stars on BB 22.

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The Secret Strategy

In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Dan and Janelle shared that they were both excited to see each other upon arriving at the castle in the initial moments of The Traitors US season 2.

“My only concern was that people would see us together too much,” Dan shared about working with his former BB ally. “So I really made a concerted effort to not talk to Janelle as much as possible.” Janelle agreed, explaining, “Dan and I only talked very discreetly, and I would always whisper. Like, this is who’s coming after you…and then I would just go away.”

While Dan and Janelle have aligned in the past, some were wary if they would work together after their last Big Brother experience. “I was really looking forward to working with Dan,” Janelle explained. “When I saw him I was like, it would be the perfect scenario. I just felt like I had to.” Dan agreed, sharing, “as soon as I saw Janelle, it was a no-brainer. It felt really reassuring to have [her] there because there’s just a lot of loyalty there…I’m glad we got to work together in this game.”

The Big Brother Past

Janelle returned to Big Brother 14 after a 7-season absence, joining Dan along with other BB alumni as coaches in the beginning of the season. While the coaches were not part of the game initially, they chose to enter as contestants after the first few weeks of gameplay and were hopeful they’d be able to work together. Unfortunately, Janelle’s time on the season came to a quick end after one of her fellow coaches worked behind her back to have her evicted, knowing she was likely the strongest player in the game. While Dan didn’t directly betray her, many worried their working relationship could be damaged from his betrayal.

Despite some bad blood between them in the past, Dan and Janelle’s excitement to work together as cast members of The Traitors US season 2 was palpable. As two of the strongest strategic players in the game, working together despite knowing their roles initially was a power move for both Big Brother alumni. Even prior to host Alan Cumming naming the traitors who would work to sabotage the faithful in the game, Dan and Janelle’s connection was already beyond The Traitors US, leading the pair to choose to work together no matter the circumstances.